The extent of alleged malpractice between 1998 and 2017 threatens a scandal bigger than that of Morecambe Bay, which saw the avoidable deaths of 11 babies and one mother.

The latest deaths, those a mother and two babies, occurred as recently as December last year.

Rhiannon Davies, whose daughter Kate died in 2009 following delivery at SaTH, yesterday described the trust as “defensive” and “unwilling to learn”.

“If I were a pregnant lady today about to go into SaTH to have my baby I would be very, very worried,” she said.

However, the trust has defended the “continuous improvement” of its maternity service, arguing that only 12 of the 40 additional cases are a valid cause for concern.

Parents have said they were pressured into natural births in midwife-supervised units, claiming that a caesarean or forceps-assisted deliveries would have prevented brain damage.

Some deaths are also blamed on the failure of midwives to properly monitor foetal heart rates and detect infection.

The Government is already investigating Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals TrustCredit:
Alamy Stock Photo

Concerns about the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity unit began being raised following the 2009 death of Kate Stanton-Davies.

A report found she had died “avoidably” after two midwives failed to realise her birth was high risk and ignored her parents’ concerns.

Dozens of parents have come forward since then, including those of Pippa Griffiths, who died in 2016 from a preventable infection that was not detected by midwives.

In January 2017 Jeremy Hunt, then the Health Secretary, announced that an independent inquiry led by a senior midwife Donna Ockenden would examine 23 cases.

But NHS Improvement, the hospital regulator, said yesterday it may broaden its inquiry to include consider “anything relevant”, including findings from five separate reviews into the maternity unit already undertaken.

Mrs Davies told the BBC she hoped the expanded review would lead to prosecutions where appropriate.

“It is unacceptable that this trust is still in denial,” she said.

“This is an absolutely toxic trust with a failing management.”

The potential escalation of the maternity inquiry comes as it emerged the trust could face legal action from the Care Quality Commission, which inspects hospitals, following claims by patients in other units that they were being treated like “animals and cattle”.

A letter to SaTH chief executive Simon Wright said patients were being treated in inappropriate areas, such as corridors, for up to seven days at a time.

It also emerged that the former head of midwifery, Cathy Smith, who was heavily criticised and disciplined by the trust for gross misconduct following the death of Kate Stanton-Davies, is now in charge of a patient safety partnership with hospitals in Seattle.

The alleged preference for natural births echoes the scandal at Furness General Hospital, part of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust.

Yesterday Health Service Journal reported a source as saying: “The scale of this could put Morecambe Bay into the shade.”

Last night, however, Mr Wright described the trust’s maternity services as a “safe environment with dedicated caring staff”.

He said the trust has written to 12 other families to seek permission for their care to be reviewed as there "may be potential for further learning".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "We take any patient safety concerns extremely seriously - we have asked NHS Improvement to investigate whether further cases at Shrewsbury and Telford should be considered as part of the Ockenden Review, as well as assurance that the Trust has taken steps to improve maternity services since these issues came to light in 2016."